Thursday, January 26, 2012

Cannonball Big Bell Stone Series Tenor Sax

I'm always searching for the next best thing whether it's a new interesting musical concept or a mouthpiece, so a couple of months ago I couldn't resist trying a really beautiful instrument that was hanging on my local Sam Ash's sax wall. I really enjoyed playing it, and I came back a couple more times just to continue trying the horn again. I've recently had an extended two day play test of the instrument, and, though I'm not replacing my Mark VI, this particular model by Cannonball is definitely unique and a great playing experience.

The Big Bell Stone Series comes with two necks, a traditional style neck and an underslung octave key style neck called the "Fat" neck. They each provide a different playing experience, and I'll start the review by outlining their differences. The Fat neck was my preferred of the two.

The Fat Neck

What initially interested me about this horn was its similarity to the vintage Selmer Super Balanced Action tenor I used to own. The similarities are very striking. The sound, though certainly not identical to an SBA, is warm, powerful, and somewhat spread. It is also very flexible, easy to inflect in all registers including the altissimo, and able to transform from warm and lush to punchy and thick. This kind of flexibility does requires good air support, and some might find the feeling a little too free-blowing. That free-blowing element also allows extreme control over dynamics and other subtleties that you can't always control as minutely otherwise.

The traditional neck is a little brighter in tone quality, but has less core to it. It is also more supportive in terms of air efficiency, which makes it feel slightly less free-blowing. It is still easy to inflect and mold the sound, however I didn't feel like I had quite the same freedom and control as I did with the Fat neck.

The rest of the playing experience is great overall. The key work is solid. It feels slightly unique, but I was able to adjust easily to it. The biggest quirk in the key work is the distance of the left hand spatula (pinky) keys. They might have been a little too far for me. The intonation seems fantastic and easy to work with. Nothing stuck out there. Overall, this is a great horn and possibly my favorite modern horn so far.

Conclusion: A warm, flexible yet powerful, modern horn. A great playing experience.

9 comments:

Thanks for posting your input on the Cannonball tenor. I think they are great instuments actually give me a meaty broad tone while retaining the thick core of a selmer. I has a even scale and great intonation and flexibility. Keywork is top too. The selmer (MKVI 226xxx) gives me some more clearity and focus. Both great horns in their own regards. You sound great on this cannonball. How would you compare it to the SBA?

Roger Thanks for the input. I think the SBA and the Cannonball have a somewhat similar freeblowing feel, but I think the SBA outshines the Cannonball in terms of tone. The SBAs have more vibrance and life in their sound.

Is the horn in the picture the horn being reviewed? Doesn't look like a Brute Big Bell,... it looks a little like the Vintage. Am I wrong on this? Just want to know if the sound clips are of the pictured horn. Nice review,... thanks!

Galaen, sorry it took a while to write back. You'll need to double check this, but I believe the finish is a treatment meaning the metal is actually that color much like when you stain a piece of wood.